HONDA INTEGRA 700 (2012 - 2013) Review

Year: 2013

Let's give an honest review from someone who has just returned from a 2400 mile camping trip to Nurburgring, Switzerland, leichenstein, Italy and South of France in 8 days! I bought the Nc700d last year which already had givi top box and givi pannier frames, I purchased a pair of v37 panniers, fitted a ram mount x grip and leads for phone navigation via earphones and booked the Eurotunnel crossing, heavily laden with full panniers and 60 litre roll bag containing camping, clothes, food etc.First full tank of fuel was 82.7mpg!Gearbox is a dream, in sport mode I hit 110mph indicated on german autobahn and cruised effortlessly at 85-95 mph for miles, with flip helmet still up! Fuel dropped to 63 mpg for above.Brakes are fantastic, personally love the linked brakes, they really do haul the bike up quick! Seat is reasonably comfortable, to be honest most bikes get uncomfortable after 430 miles in a day. Suspension a bit basic, especially forks, but improved with loaded up weight. Cornering ability, superb, as is high speed ability.I cannot stress how good this bike is, I really am struggling to find a negative point. As the engine is based on half a honda jazz engine it is packed with low down torque! And it will really shift when required. You barely hear the engine unless accelerating very hard. It's a low revving unit that seems happy at any speed. Lights are very good, travelled through alps at night with no problems. I've done 800 miles in a day returning to uk, so I think that's a testament to the all round ability of this superb bike. Mine was bought fitted with the additional footpegs, which I would recommend for long distance work.

Version: 750

Year: 2013

Annual servicing cost: £175

I treat this as a car. I wash it, check the the oil every now and then, take it out of the garage, use it. It's comfortable, even 2 up. I live amongst hilly, narrow lanes so tend to use it in (S)ports mode. Motorways in (D)rive mode gives the best economy. The front forks are basic, not brilliant. The rear shock likewise. Front brake is OK. The rear, I use to control tight turns as my knees have nothing to grip. It has a handy parking brake. I love the look from car drivers as they get overtaken by a scooter at 70mph. Previous owners have farkled it up very well, rear hugger, carbon exhaust, Honda top box. I might get a bigger screen as wind hits the top of my new helmet. It's the only bike I've had where there's no draught/rain/cold down your neck - quite comfy that.

Buying experience: The previous owner replaced this with a large Forza. He regretted the swap. Just saying.

Year: 2012

Annual servicing cost: £100

This is the older version of the Integra and it's a great comfortable bike however the DCT is not that smooth with clunky changes at lower speeds and occasionally not sure which gear it wants to be in

Buying experience: From a dealer whom was not the best I paid the advertised price of £3999

Version: NC700D

Year: 2013

Annual servicing cost: £120

Fuel economy on this model is excellent I’m averaging 85 miles per gallon - the duel clutch transmission is good as are the combined anti lock brakes - the digital instrument cluster is nice - on the negative side the rather cheap box steel swing arm looks awful and the standard windshield is too low and narrow.

Buying experience: I bought from a franchised dealer in Ayrshire Scotland - the price advertised was £3995 however I clinched a deal at £3800 - a one owner bike with under 2500 miles on the odometer with full honda luggage

Year: 2012

Annual servicing cost: £120

Set up with panniers and top box this makes an awsome and comfortable touring machine. Very comfortable, great weather protection and smooth power delivery. The Dual Clutch Transmission is simply first rate in all modes. Only slight niggle is the tank/storage space on the NC 700 S and X has been removed which is a bit odd, as it is far too tall for a step through anyway.

Buying experience: Bought from t-Moto in Weston Super Mare - they seemed very straight and open.

I have owned this bike since September 2012 and I can honestly say that I am very happy with it. I had a 2011 HRC Fireblade before this and also a Suzuki Burgman AN650 Executive, before the Burgman I had a Honda Deauville NT650(the Deauville and then the Burgman were bought for 40 miles commutes from Romford to Kent). I found that I was using the Burgman a lot more often than the blade, because it was so much more practical and comfortable to ride. Last year I decided to sell the Fireblade because I had only covered 500 miles on it and I had owned it for just over a year. I contacted my local dealer and negotiated and I was able to do a straight swap for the Integra, in the colour which I wanted, which was Candy Graceful Red. I decided on the Integra because it combines the comfort and protection of a scooter and the ride and handling of a motorcycle. I had a demo ride on a NC700X DCT, because none of my local dealers had an Integra demo bike available. I liked the NC700X, but I thought that it did not provide enough weather protection and the padding in the seat was a bit too firm. 1. The DCT in a word is excellent, I know that some people will argue and disagree, but I think that Honda should make DCT an option on all of their larger capacity bikes. 2. I disagree with MCN, the bike has plenty of torque and I know that off the line, this bike will keep up with most sportsbikes. Most people think that bhp is important, when it comes to acceleration, when in actual fact it is torque that matters when it comes to acceleration. BHP is for top speed, the more bhp, the higher top speed. 3. Top end speed is not everything and the top speed of this bike is more than enough for UK roads. The NC range are all built in Japan. I have owned mostly sportsbikes, ever since I passed my test in 2003. I have owned a CBR600F, CBR600RR7, CBR1000RR6 and CBR1000RRB HRC. before buying the CBR1000RRB, I tried out the then new crossplane crank Yamaha R1, but I decided that the bike was not good around town and you really needed to rev the bike a lot to get the power out of it. The CBR1000RR felt more powerful.